Except for supermarkets, I don't expect any stores to actually accept cash anymore.
This have lead to a growing bag of small change that is not leaving my home, so I can understand people not wanting cash :)
Really? Mind if I ask where? As much as cash use has dwindled here in the UK (at least anecdotally) I’ve never come across a store that won’t accept cash. I know a couple that didn’t accept it early in the pandemic (due to fear of covid spreading on cash) but that didn’t last long.
The US is very cash centric, but a lot of countries are slowly migrating away from it. Many stores don't accept cash and it is mostly the older generation that continue to use it.
If we want cash to remain stores must be forced (by law) to accept it, and this must be done soon. Even if we go that route you will quickly become that weirdo that payed in cash if you actually makes use of it.
Quite a few places no longer accepting cash in the UK, ostensibly for COVID reasons but actually to avoid having their staff handle cash, so pilfering. I no longer pay with a card, so these no-cash places just don't see my trade.
A lot of stores and shops either don’t or are reluctant to accept cash right now. Partially due to people’s COVID contamination concerns and partially because change is still hard to get.
It isn't a majority of stores or anything, however there are enough places that I've started to notice.
I wonder if the move away from cash is an attempt to reduce the risk of theft, but I have no direct knowledge of the situation.
Even the local (large, very large) Chinese supermarket is mostly cash-less. I presume technically they take cash, but every checkout line that is staffed says "card only".
My experience lines up with yours. I love paying with cash when I can, but even in my smaller city, so many places won't accept cash. My assumption is that handling cash is a cost they'd rather not deal with.
For food, most places will accept cash here. Hell, even a bookstore near me won't accept cash anymore.
This is in Sweden. Cash is mostly gone. Restaurants where you eat first and pay later usually accept it reluctantly, unless they made clear up front they don’t (they have no choice then - you already ate and unlike the opposite no-card-situation where you are forced to go to an atm, you can hardly go make a deposit!). But stores, cafes etc are cashless to a large extent (but with lots of exceptions or partial exceptions e.g a grocery store might have 1 register of 10 accepting cash which means you don’t want to use cash).
Overall, the vast majority of retailers do accept cash in some form but not in usual “small transaction” situations like cafes, taxis, smaller shops.
I experienced the only slightly inconvenient of this when I was replacing my bank card, even going into a Pret, I was unlucky enough to go into one randomly that didn't accept cash.
But for people that don't have bank cards, or can't charge their phones this is a real problem.
The OP article is about the UK and in fact many place in the UK do not accept cash. My understanding is that trend accelerated, if not started, during COVID.
It used to be irritating when cash was king but now I use card for 99.9% of everything it doesn't really make much difference to the way I see prices.
Purchased a couple of ice creams at a small museum cafe yesterday and they only took cash... change was 40p (UK here) so I just told them to put it in their donation box, didn't really want a load of coins in my pocket.
I buy stuff without cash all the time, but if I find myself in an establishment that does not accept cash I buy nothing at all, and usually loudly remark that it sucks that I can't use cash there while I am leaving.
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